The two frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination are now trading verbal fire over the word “woke.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday (June 3) that “woke is an existential threat to our society.”
DeSantis commented as he welcomed Republican activists to a major GOP 2024 presidential campaign event in Iowa, where caucuses lead the calendar for Republican candidates for the White House.
DeSantis was asked about comments former President Donald Trump’s comments made two days earlier.
On Thursday (June 1), in a statement toWestside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, Trump revealed he doesn’t “like the term ‘woke,'” adding when he hears “woke,” it’s just a term people use, half of those using “can’t even define,” because “they don’t know what it is.”
Asked about Trump’s comments, the Florida governor said Saturday that “to say it’s not a big deal,” revealed that they “don’t understand what a lot of these issues are right now.”
Trump, who launched his third consecutive campaign for the White House last November, is currently leading the polls.
DeSantis has risen among conservatives across the country in recent years, partly thanks to his battles in the culture wars against some big corporations, school unions, and the media.
He often suggests that Florida “is where the woke goes to die.”
The governor is firmly in second place in the GOP candidate polls, well behind Trump but well ahead of other potential rivals.
Trump has repeatedly initiated attacks on DeSantis, pointing to potentially feeling intimidated by the Florida Governor.
